Come to Daddy (2019)

Come to Daddy is the kind of midnight-movie lightning bolt that starts as an awkward, darkly funny family reunion and keeps swerving into stranger, sharper territory with the confidence of a filmmaker who knows exactly how far to push the joke before it turns into a gasp. Ant Timpson gives the film a wicked sense of timing and a grimy coastal vibe, while Elijah Wood is terrific as a well-meaning man-child whose nerves, vanity, and desperate hope make him both hilarious and oddly affecting. The pleasure here is in the tonal high-wire act: it’s witty, tense, and gleefully unpredictable, with a mystery that keeps tightening the screws as the situation spirals. Fair warning, though—this is not for the squeamish, because the violence is vivid and the humor is pitch-black, but if you like your thrills with bite and nerve, it’s a blast.

Come to Daddy wants to be a nasty little cocktail of dark comedy, family trauma, and sudden horror, and for a while it nails that uneasy “something’s off” tension with Elijah Wood’s wonderfully awkward, outmatched lead. The problem is that once the mystery cracks open, the film trades creeping dread for louder, messier mayhem, with twists that can feel more like forced shock value than earned escalation. The gore is not shy and the vulgar, chaotic energy is the point, so if you’re hoping for a smart, tightly plotted thriller or horror with restraint, this will likely irritate you. If you can tolerate (or enjoy) wild tonal swings, grimy violence, and a story that prioritizes audacity over elegance, there’s enough bite and oddball style here to make it worth a look.